“I want to tone up! I don’t want to get bulky and put on muscle.” I hear women say this all the time. A few months back I actually ran a challenge group on the difference between toning up vs building muscle. The women in my group learned the truth of the matter and educated themselves on how to get the look they want while dispelling common myths so I decide to do a blog post on the topic because I am a true meat head at heart and women are selling themselves short when it comes to training.
When you say- “I want to tone up” I think what you mean is: I want to look fit and lean. I want some muscle definition, but don’t want to look like the Hulk. Let’s clear something up!
Tone- Look lean and fit. Cut fat.
Build muscle- Look lean and fit.
The truth is- you can’t looked toned without building muscle and hence some fat at first. However, without eating A LOT of food, spending hours a day lifting weights, AND taking anabolic steroids you won’t be looking extremely Hulky. Don’t get me wrong. Your jeans may get tight in the butt and your tops may not fit as loose, but you will develop a leaner and healthier body by lifting heavy and not skimping out on calories.
When I was 130 pounds a year ago, I was at 19-20% body fat. I lifted HEAVY, I ate clean and when I was hungry, and I did not do excessive cardio. My jeans were big in the waist and fit good in my thighs (just not on leg days), and I loved wearing sleeveless tops because I had great definition in my arms.
Presently, and still recovering from Adrenal Fatigue, I am 130 pounds with 22-23% body fat. My jeans are tight in the waist, I do yoga about 2-3 days a week and an ab workout for 10 minutes following yoga. Although, I weigh the same as I did a year ago and I even eat cleaner, I don’t lift heavy and therefore, I don’t see the same results.
Obtaining the look of “being toned” which as you learned is the same as building muscle is a process and takes time. Here are some tips that will help you develop a lean fit body:
First, you must eat clean food. This is a MUST. Nutrition is the shit. If I didn’t think so, I wouldn’t be so passionate and my career would be something other than teaching nutrition. You need to eat the right amount of protein, fat, and carbs, but most importantly you need to listen to your body. Don’t set a low calorie limit (anything under 1500) and go hungry otherwise you won’t have gains.
Secondly, lift heavy! This can be a huge step out of your comfort zone and I highly suggest you hire a trainer or work with a friend who has experience in body building if you don’t.
If you are a beginner to weight training you want a solid 3-4 weeks of making sure you have proper form and lift in the 12-15 rep range. You want to build a good base and adjust your body. Next, you can drop your rep ranges down to 8-10 after a warm-up set. When you get to 8 or 10 reps it should be hard. You should barely be able to complete the last rep. You will work for it- this is where the magic happens. By doing low reps and lifting to failure, your muscles get micro tears and then your body rebuilds it. This is where key nutrition comes into play!
Lastly, and this option depending on the person is cardio. Personally, as I shared above, I seldom did cardio because I had enough muscle to keep me lean. However, some people like it and others have to do it to lean out. If you must do cardio (which can help or hinder your results depending on your nutrition and metabolism) I highly suggest doing it after you lift and doing High interval intensity training (HIIT). When I do this I warm up on an elliptical, treadmill, or stair climber for five minutes. At five minutes, I sprint or go as hard as I can for 30 seconds. I then return to a steady pace for a full minute to a minute and 30 seconds, and then sprint, repeating this cycling until I reach a total of 20 or 25 minutes followed by a five-minute cool down.
Learning how to step out of a comfort zone is scary, but most times it will get you results. When I pushed outside of my comfort zone I started seeing major changes in my body. This is how I developed a lean physique without crash dieting, starving myself, or spending hours a day at the gym. It was amazing and a huge confidence booster!
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